Patient One Products

Patient One's premier line of MediNutritional products is available exclusively through health care practitioners. Our advanced, science-based nutritional supplements are designed to optimize your patients’ health and support you in providing superior care for your patients.

Unique Properties

Patient One Meso-Z Vision supplies a complex of lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin, naturally occurring plant pigments (carotenoids) that are concentrated in the macula. Research has shown that macular pigment (the yellow pigment at the macula believed to protect against age-related macular degeneration, or AMD) increases upon supplementation with lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin, and that macular pigment increases are higher when all three are taken together.

Meso-Z Vision also helps protect the eyes from blue light, the most damaging spectrum of visible light. Today's "digital lifestyle" increases high-energy blue light exposure risk, creating a new concern for all age groups. Blue light exposure is often associated with electronics with LED screens including computer monitors, smart phones, tablets, e-readers, and TV. This formula helps absorb blue light, which may reduce damage to the eye, and naturally filters blue light to help reduce the formation of free radicals, providing anti-oxidant support for the retina.

Key Ingredients

Lutein, Zeaxanthin and Meso-Zeaxanthin

The human body does not naturally make important eye nutrients--lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin--that it needs. Though lutein and zeaxanthin are found in egg yolks, fruits and vegetables, including spinach and other leafy greens, most Western diets are low in lutein and zeaxanthin, carotenoids found in high quantities in the retina (macula) of the eye.

Unlike the more familiar lutein and zeaxanthin, a third carotenoid--meso-zeaxanthin--has been detected in the retina. This compound is a stereoisomer of zeaxanthin that is not commonly present in the normal human diet or blood, making supplementation the only practical source outside of the body.

Lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin are yellow pigments that provide color in marigolds and corn. The yellow color is critical for the absorption of blue light, which contains a shorter wavelength in the visual spectrum and as such delivers high energy to photosensitizers in the eye. Meso-Z Vision filters harmful high-energy blue wavelengths of light and helps protect and maintain healthy cells in the eyes.

While many patients are aware of the damaging effects of sunlight and protect their eyes, two-thirds of adults are unaware that electronics emit intense, high-energy blue light. Adults spend an average of 9.5 hours daily and youth ages 8-18 spend 7 hours daily in front of a screen--such as smart phones, laptops, e-readers, tablets and television. Over 90% of children use a computer. Further, by 2020, 90% of artificial indoor lighting is expected to use LED and compact flourescent bulbs--sources of high-energy blue light. Short-term exposure to blue light can cause dry eyes, blurred vision, headaches and visual fatigue, while long-term exposure can lead to progressive loss of visual function.

Lutein, zeaxanthin and meso-zeaxanthin accumulate in the macular region of the retina where they are collectively known as macular pigment and their amount is measured as macular pigment optical density (MPOD). MPOD has become a useful biomarker for predicting disease and visual function. Meso-Z Vision supports a rapid increase in macular pigment and increased MPOD. Macular pigment acts as a blue light filter and in general, higher MPOD is associated with better visual performance and reduced risk for chronic eye conditions, including AMD and cataracts.

Research

The first study to evaluate the effects of a dietary supplement containing predominantly meso-zeaxanthin (MZ) was conducted in a Miami research laboratory. This research confirmed that MZ was effectively absorbed into the serum, and macular pigment density was increased significantly in many subjects in the supplementation group. No such increases were observed in the placebo group.

A study done in Northern Ireland, where 19 subjects consumed a supplement composed of all three macular carotenoids (including MZ) over a period of 22 days, demonstrated that MZ was absorbed.

At the Institute of Vision Research, Waterford Institute of Technology, the MZ Ocular Supplementation Trial (MOST), was conducted to evaluate macular pigment response and serum carotenoid response in subjects with and without AMD, following consumption of a supplement containing all three macular carotenoids in which MZ was predominant. This study identified statistically significant increases in serum concentrations of MZ and L from baseline. Significant increases in central macular pigment levels were also observed after just two weeks of supplementation. Furthermore, in patients who had an atypical macular pigment distribution in the eye (i.e. they did not have the high concentration of pigment in the center of the macula), when supplemented with a MZ-dominant supplement for 8 weeks, the more normal pigment profile was re-instated.

A recent study demonstrated that higher dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin and vitamin E was associated with a significantly decreased risk of cataract formation.